09-19-2020 , 10:38 PM
https://www.freep.com/story/travel/news/...815264002/ US borders with Canada, Mexico to remain closed through Oct. 21 to 'slow spread of COVID-19'
Jayme Deerwester
USA TODAY America's borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed through Oct. 21.
Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf announced the news Friday in a tweet.
"We continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican partners to slow the spread of #COVID19," he wrote. "Accordingly, we have agreed to extend the limitation of non-essential travel at our shared land ports of entry through October 21."
Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair also shared the news on the social media platform, saying, "We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe."
The Twitter account for Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, confirmed the news before Wolf on Thursday.
Both borders were closed to all but essential traffic in mid-March after the coronavirus pandemic hit, with government officials announcing multiple extensions as case counts continued to rise, especially in the U.S. The most recent extension, announced in mid-August, was due to expire Sept. 21.
Neither extension comes as much of a surprise: All three countries have seen a rise in cases since August, but Canada lags far behind the U.S. and Mexico in both new infections and deaths.
According to World Health Organization data, Canada reported just over 5,200 new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 14, its highest week since June 1. All told, the country has had nearly 141,000 and 9,200 deaths.
Mexico began August with 44,770 new cases and 4,623 deaths and has had more than 25,000 new cases and between nearly 2,000 and 3,300 deaths per week since then. Its cumulative totals are 684,113 cases and 72,179 deaths.
Jayme Deerwester
USA TODAY America's borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed through Oct. 21.
Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf announced the news Friday in a tweet.
"We continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican partners to slow the spread of #COVID19," he wrote. "Accordingly, we have agreed to extend the limitation of non-essential travel at our shared land ports of entry through October 21."
Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair also shared the news on the social media platform, saying, "We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe."
The Twitter account for Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, confirmed the news before Wolf on Thursday.
Both borders were closed to all but essential traffic in mid-March after the coronavirus pandemic hit, with government officials announcing multiple extensions as case counts continued to rise, especially in the U.S. The most recent extension, announced in mid-August, was due to expire Sept. 21.
Neither extension comes as much of a surprise: All three countries have seen a rise in cases since August, but Canada lags far behind the U.S. and Mexico in both new infections and deaths.
According to World Health Organization data, Canada reported just over 5,200 new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 14, its highest week since June 1. All told, the country has had nearly 141,000 and 9,200 deaths.
Mexico began August with 44,770 new cases and 4,623 deaths and has had more than 25,000 new cases and between nearly 2,000 and 3,300 deaths per week since then. Its cumulative totals are 684,113 cases and 72,179 deaths.